Scenic Sunday: Washington Irving's Sunnyside

 Washington Irving's Sunnyside, Tarrytown, New York

I first read Washington Irving's stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle" in the eighth grade, and ever since have loved Irving's description of the "sequestered glen of Sleepy Hollow, whose dreamy influence seems to hang over the land."

Irving bought Tarrytown's Sunnyside in 1835, then enlarged and renovated this beautiful cottage that overlooks the Hudson River.  A prolific author of fiction, history and biography, Irving also held diplomatic posts in Great Britain and Spain.

Nicknamed "The Snuggery", Sunnyside felt warm and inviting.  I visited over Christmas; it's cheerful English-style holiday decorations consisted of decorative green garlands on the mantle but no Christmas tree --  sadly, Irving never got over the death of his sweetheart, Matilde, and mourned her until he died in 1859 at the age of 76.

Today Sunnyside remains much as it was when Irving last saw it:  rolling lawns (snow-covered at the time of my visit) that slope down to the Hudson River, which flows swiftly along to meet the sea at New York Harbor.

If you're interested in the Hudson Valley, you might also like these posts:

• Holidays in the Hudson Valley

• A Lyndhurst Fairytale Christmas

• Philipsburg Manor

Comments

[Melody]

Yes... Lyndhurst is about a half mile south of the Tappan Zee bridge on Route 9 and Sunnyside is just south of Lyndhurst.

[Doug Pologe]

Isn't Sunnyside almost right next door to Lyndhurst?